‘Tax Phase- In’ program hopes to lure jobs

Th is is an attempt to find a better name for what cit y and count y gove r nment s have tradit iona lly called tax abatements.

The whole idea with this type of incentive prog ram is to encourage bu siness a nd in dust ry to come to and/ or stay in Mila m Count y by abati ng the impact of new ad valorem taxes in the first few years of th e inv es tme nt pe r iod while the business is being established or renewed.

So we offer to “phase in” the ad valorem ta xes on the new busin essove ra2to 5yearperiod dependi ng on the amou nt of capital investment and the number of jobs created or retained.

In getting this program approved and out there in public view on our web site and in othe r plac es, the comm issioners and I want everyone to know th at Mi lam Count y is commit te d to t he promot ion of ec onomic developme nt and to improving the qua lit y of life for our citizens. Other cou nties su ch as our neig hb or Bu rleson County have a common abatement struct ur e for both the county and for the towns of Ca ldwell and Somer ville.

They adver tisefor industry using thei r com mon program as a featu re to att ract companies to come and locate there.

That way, for exa mple, Caldwell can cou rt a company knowing up fron t that the county will of fer the same tax incentive as they are offering if the prospe ct will locate in their town.

I plan to prese nt the prog ram we’ve adopted to the city counci ls of Cameron, Rockdale, Thorndale, and Buck holts— Mila no curr ently does not have a ta x— to se e if they might con sider adopt ing a common pro gram with the count y.

We mayneed tomake some furt her adjustment s as we try to achieve a common policy, so we on the commissi oners cou rt are certainly willing to be flexible.

However, the good thing here is th at re gar dl ess of whet her we end up with com mon schedu les, we’ ll have formal incent iv es in place at bot h the count y and cit y level as we work toget her to br ing new investment and jobs to Milam County.